


king and lionheart

by starkly



Series: you've been thunderstruck [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Asgardian Tony Stark, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28210380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: There were few children Thor’s age around him growing up. There was Sif, only a few years older and infinitely cooler in Thor’s eyes. Younger brother Loki was always tagging along, wanting to do whatever his older brother was doing and generally getting in the way, but Thor never minded that much.And then there was Anthony.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Thor
Series: you've been thunderstruck [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064666
Comments: 1
Kudos: 98





	king and lionheart

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for NaNoWriMo 2020 and [posted here](https://aleator.tumblr.com/post/634197085738188801) on my tumblr writing blog. This fic was proofread before being uploaded here but is otherwise unchanged.
> 
> Prompts taken from the AU-gust 2020 challenge list on Twitter. Day Seven: Childhood Friends AU.

Thanks to their longevity, Asgardians don’t have children often. There were few children Thor’s age around him growing up. There was Sif, only a few years older and infinitely cooler in Thor’s eyes. Younger brother Loki was always tagging along, wanting to do whatever his older brother was doing and generally getting in the way, but Thor never minded that much.

And then there was Anthony.

He was only a couple years older, like Sif, with dark hair and the most beautiful brown eyes. Thor was immediately smitten upon meeting him the day Anthony’s father came to court to be Odin’s official blacksmith. There was much talk about Asgard’s relationship with Nidavellir at the time, and gossip that the Stark line wasn’t fully Asgardian, that they had Dwarf blood hidden in the roots of the family tree, but Thor was young and didn’t care about any of that. He was just happy to make a new friend.

Anthony was a shy child, but upon meeting Thor he soon opened up, becoming more adventurous. He explored Asgard with Thor and Sif and Loki, sneaking out when they shouldn't and getting into trouble. Everyone knew that Anthony would climb in and out of Thor’s chambers through his balcony, but nobody ever stopped him. Only Odin would complain, reminding Thor that he was to be king one day and that he should act like one. He had too many important things to learn to be sneaking out with his friends and listening to Ratatoskr’s tall tales or hunting for Bilgesnipes.

No matter what Odin did, however, Thor and Anthony were inseparable. Short for his age, Anthony could often be found trailing after Thor and clinging to his cloak. Even as they got older, Anthony only got a brief period of being the bigger of the pair before Thor too started to grow into the very big shoes he had to fill as crown prince. But that didn’t mean the path was always easy.

The evening of Thor’s twentieth birthday, Anthony finds him outside in one of the garden courtyards, hidden away from sight by several large rose bushes.

“I wondered where you’d gone off to,” he says, sitting down on the stone bench beside Thor. “Everything alright? You’re missing your party.”

“It’ll still be there,” Thor replies, shrugging lightly. Asgardian parties tended to go on for days, especially ones for his birthday, which were more of a festive holiday than for just him specifically. He used to be sad his birthday wasn’t really a day for him, but now he’s just used to it.

“I can sneak you out some of that cake you like, with the red berries,” Anthony offers.

Thor smiles, pleased by how Anthony wants to cheer him up, but shakes his head.

“What’s wrong?” Anthony asks quietly. “You know you can talk to me.”

“It’s nothing,” he says, looking up at the stars as he clasps his hands in his lap. “I’m being foolish.”

“And that’s no different than any other day,” Anthony teases, putting an arm around Thor’s shoulders and shaking him gently. “So tell me.”

Thor sighs, but he’s never been able to deny Anthony anything, especially when he looks at him like that.

“I know my father has many years left in him, so I should not worry, but...I fear I’ll never be ready to be king. I feel like a disappointment every time my father tells me I’m doing something wrong.”

“Oh, is that it?” Anthony says with a laugh. He squeezes Thor’s shoulder tighter, holding him closer. “You’ll be a great king, Thor. You try so hard. Even if you’re impulsive and rash sometimes. And you’ve got a bit of a temper. And--”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Thor interrupts, laughing despite himself. “Aren’t you supposed to be cheering me up?”

“I’m just saying, you’re young. Odin will be around for a million more years, I’m sure. There’s no point lamenting so early. You’ll be old and boring like your father soon enough.”

“Oh, yes, I can’t wait to be boring,” Thor says, looking at Anthony with a fond smile. Despite the terrible conversation, somehow Anthony’s still managed to cheer him up.

“So let’s be less boring inside, at your party,” Anthony adds, and he takes Thor’s hand before he stands up and tugs Thor up as well.

“Wait,” Thor says, planting his feet and keeping hold of Anthony’s hand. Anthony stops and turns toward him, curious, making no move to free his hand.

“When I’m king, I want you by my side,” Thor tells him with no hesitation. Anthony’s eyes go wide, but he doesn’t say anything to stop Thor or try to pull his hand away. “I can’t do this without you.”

“Of course you can, Thor,” Anthony says gently, expression softening into something sadder. “I just told you, you’ll be a great king.”

Anthony clearly doesn’t get it, so Thor tightens his grip on his hand and pulls him closer, until they’re only a hair’s breadth apart.

“I want you by my side now, when I am king, and forever after in the halls of Valhalla, Anthony Stark,” Thor says. He can’t get any clearer than that, he thinks.

“Oh,” Anthony says, small and disbelieving, then a little louder, “Oh.”

“Does this displease you?”

Anthony ducks his head, soft laughter escaping as he answers, “No, it does not. Not at all.”

Taking in a nervous breath, Thor lifts his free hand to Anthony’s chin, tipping his head back up so he can close the distance between them and press his lips to Anthony’s. It’s a little awkward at first, Anthony standing there as stiff as a board, but then he relaxes and brings his hand up to cup the back of Thor’s neck, parting his lips so Thor can deepen the kiss.

And for those few moments, Thor doesn’t care that the party raging on inside isn’t really for him, or that one day he’ll be king of Asgard and Allfather of all the realms. As long as Anthony is still by his side, he’ll be able to take on anything.


End file.
